Rotary drilling and reaming tool organization



Feb. 5, 1929.

` G. D. SHIELDs ROTARY DRILLING AND REAMING TOOL ORGANIZATION Filed Feb'. 23, 1927 67 Trae/v5) WM um Mum Il l imm. WNW W3 Il b I MNHN.. 1

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Patented Feb. 5,1929.

- UNITED ASTATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE D. SHIELDS, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-FOURTH TO BERT RUSSELL, OF SOUTH PASADENA, CALIFORNIA.

ROTARY DRILLING AND REAMING TOOL ORGANIZATION.

Application led February 2 3, 1927. Serial No. 170,121.

. a pilot bit, with which I employ a hollow shaft, through which a usual lubricating liquid may be delivered to said terminal or pilot bit, for the carrying of a reaming element or elements; and it is a particular advantage of the organization here referred to that, all parts being rigidly interconnected in use, and means being provided not only for the substitution of any desired reaming elements but Afor the spacing of the same at any desired intervals, rotation may be transmitted thereto and therebetween by clutch* like faces provided thereon,-a bottom stop or clamping element being preferably provided with a face suitable for cooperation .with any desired reaming and/or mudding and/or burnishing or straightening element or elements, as hereinafter described.

It is an object of my invention to provide, for use in an yorganization ofthe general character referred to, a graduated 'series of reaming elements, these .being preferably so disposed relatively to one another and to a terminal or pilot bit as to assure the comparatively easy cutting of a relatively straight holedunitary or one-piece annular rcaming elements comprising hollow hubs being respectively provided with radially extending teeth whose edges (whether straight or curved or downwardly tapered) lie in vertical planes and are equally spaced and favorably disposed both for a cutting effect and for'the upward circulation of a lubricating liquid; and, in preferred embodiments of my invention, somel or all `of the reaning elements'referred to (and also spacing and/or burnishin or` other wall- ,perfecting elements intere angeable there.r

with) may beprovided with 'mudding vanes of less diameter than the maximum diameter of the wellhole,comprising rearwardly inclined and rounded or other surfaces favorably disposed for a centrifugal.

or pressure effect in the coating of a reamed hole with mud,-to prevent caving and/or to exclude Water, or the like, during continued drilling operations.-

It will be understoodthat these mudding" vancs, being of less 'diameter than the well hole and designed to have a centrifugal effect uponthe mud will cause the wall to be plastered without the attending crumbling of soft formation which would aecompany a vane that rubbed the mud intothe wall. I have, further, found that I obtain a greater depth of impregnation of mud into the wall through the mentioned centrifugal action thanis possible with a fin having a diameter equal to the diameter of the hole.

Other objects of my invention, which essentially' includes a reaming'or hole-perfecting organization suitable for interposition in a rotary drill string in such manner as to afford guidance for a terminal or pilot bit and favorably to distribute the cutting eort, assuring rapid cutting, minimum wear and a practically straight hole, ma be best appreciated from the following escription of an illustrative embodiment of said invention, taken in connection with the appended claims and the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. l may be referred to as an elevational half-section, showing an embodiment of my invention within a well hole cut thereby,- parts being broken away.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal` sectional view, taken fubstantially as indicated by the line 2-2 of fig.' 1.

Fig. 3 is an elevational view of a preferred type of space1-,-such as may be substituted for any one of the roaming elements shown in Fig. l.

Fig. 4 is an elevational view of a preferred type of burnishing elementoptionally to be used, in placeof one ofthe reaming elements shown in Fig. l, or in addition thereto, for a straightening and/or smoothing effect upon the interior of a well hole, or upon a age lll for the downwarddeliveryof a lubrieating liquid, may b e interposed at any desired level, ina rotary drill string,.above al fish-tail or other terminal. or pilot bit 14:.

The illustrated bit 14 is shown as provided with a pin 15, entering a box 16 in a sub or section 17; but it should be understood that, if desired, the pin 15 may be inserted directly in the box 13,-guidanee being then presumably secured by elongating the shaft 11, or by the use of a plurality of Such shafts having reamers, or equivalent elements, suit-ably spaced thereon.

I show the shaft 11 as provided with a lower stop or clamping element 18` (which may be threadedor welded or otherwise rigidly secured thereon) the upper surface of this cylindrical stop element being provided with a lclutch-like face,-produced by cutting a series of uniform notches or depressions 19 therein, for engagement by corresponding projections upon the unitary and annular bodies or rearning elen'xents, or the like, of any desired character.

In Fig. 1, I show a graduate-d and equally spaced series of roaming elements 20, 21, 22 and 23 as each comprising a substantially cylindrical body or hub, downwardly and upwardly terminating in a clutch-like iface,- equally spaced project-ions 24 upon the lowermost reaming element 2() being shown as interitted within the mentioned notches 19 in the stop element 18. Similarly, all of the mentioned reaming elements being preferably of `the same standard length, and all (or, all but the uppermost) being provided with two clutch-like faces interftting in the described manner, and suitably to the transmission of a torque from a lower reaming element tol an upper reaming element, I

show the uppermost roaming element 23 as retained by a stop or clamping element in the form of a nut or interiorly threaded collar 25 (preferably provided with a left-hand thread) and although, in. case a graduated ,series of roaming elements is employed, said elements may be provided with either like or different cutting edges, I show the lowermost reaming element 20 and an intermediate reaming element 22 as provided with straight but downwardly convergent edges, disposed in radial vertical planes (and optionally reinforced by stellite or other facings, substantially as`shown at 26, Fig. 2) whereas the uppermost roaming element 23 1s shown as provided with straight and vertical cutting edges, without taper; and the intermediate reaming element 21 is shown as provided with oppositely tapering or rounded-profile cutting edges or teeth; but I may, in any case, provide the teeth of my reamcrs, teeth of each reamer being disposed in a common transverse plane, with flat and radial forward faces (as best shown at 27, Fig. 2) and with rounded rearward faces 28; and, in order that said roaming elements may serve not only for the enlargement of a hole but for a muddingmp effect (to prevent caving or undesired entrance of water) I may in some or all cases provide each of the cylindrical bodies of my realners with mudding vanes such as are shown in profile at 29, 31 and 32 in F ig. 1, and, in plan, in Fig. 2,-theforward surfaces of these vanes (one or any desired plurality thereof being provided upon a reamer) being rearwardly inclined, at the outer endsthereof, in a manner favorable to the throwing or pressing of mud toward. the wall of a hole,-and the uppermost vane or face being preferably of less diameter than the cutting section of the rea-nier carrying the same.

When I desire to use but one reamer, of a less number than that to which the interval between stops 18 and 25 may be adapted, I may substitute, for any number of reamers shown, a spacing element or elements of the general character shown at 33 in Fig. 3- this element being provided with clutchlike faces such as are shown at 34 and 35 aud optionally also with one or more mudding vanos 36. Although the use of the described organization is intended to precede or ob'viate the installation of a casing within a well hole, it should be noted that, upon reversing the. position of a roaming element of the general character shown at 2l, so that what then becomes the advance faces of the teeth thereof are backwardly inclined `with reference to radial planes, or by the employment of'a burnishing or other rounded element such as is separately shown at 37 in Fig. 4., (this annulus having an uninterrupted, peripheral surface) I may utilize an organization of the general character described (optionally foregoing all use of cut-` ting elements therewith) in straightening or smoothing out any irregularities in a well casing o1 in the interior of a well hole; and the backward inclination of teeth such as are shown on the annular roaming element 2l, assuming said element to be turned'eud for end upon the hollow shaft 11, may also be very advantageously used in the sidetracking of a hole,-as for the purpose of passing a fish In reaming a preformed hole, obviously any terminal, guide of suitable diameter may be substituted for the terminal bit 14'; l

The general mode of operation of my combination rotary drilling and roaming organization having been clearly indicated above, I emphasize (1) the 'tact that said organization permits the use of a comparatively small tern'iinal or pilot drill bit even in the cutting ot' a comparatively wide hole; (2) the fact that rigidity and the considerable interval between the terminal or pilot bit andthe uppermost roaming element is favor able to the cutting of a straight hole, regardless of variations in hardness and in inclination of strata encountered, in that the small pilot bit is directed through such formation by the superimposed roaming element, and

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, relates, without the slightest departure from the hole cut by the pilot. bit is gradually en larged by the progressive roaming elements.I each being guided by the reaming elements and the pilot bit. This feature also applies to boulders, ete., in which the pilot bit might be sprung from its course, but would be redirected by the reaming elements after passing the boulder. The rcamers would in turn gradually mill the boulder or such similar obstacle lo conform to the true course of the well hole; and (3) the fact that organizations or the general character described, or parts thereof, are capable of advantageous use not only in an efficient cutting of straight holes of any desired diameter (the characteristics of the cutting teeth and the depth of cut thereof being presun'lably varied according to the material cncountered) but in the mudding up of the holes and the rectification of casings within `wells,'--such burnishing elements as are illustrated` in Fig. 4 being optionally provided not only with rounded `wall-perfectingf surfaces having profiles such as that shown at 38 but optionally also with mudding vanes 39 and/or with fluid passages or circulation spaces 40,-the upper and lower faces 4:1 and 42 being, in any case, clutch-like in character, in order that they may be rotated by means of the general character described.

The illustrated large circulation spaces, extending inward substantially to the hubs above, below and between the teeth,rpermit ample external upward circulation of the lubricating fluid downwardly delivered through passages 14. v

I consider it distinctly preferable, in transmitting rotary motion from the shaft 11 to the described reaming elements, to provide the same with'cylindrical interior surfaces 43, slidably fitting upon the cylindrical exterior of said shaft, and to retain and drive the same in the described manner, rather than give such shaft a non-circular crosssectional outline, as my preferred course obviatesthe expense of providing correspondingly non-circular interior surfaces within the reaming elements or the provision of a splined connection between said elements and said shaft', and it accordingly facilitates the assembly or disassembly and substitution of any desired reamers, as required by conditions encountered.

Although I have herein described a single complete embodiment of'my invention, suggesting various alternatives, it should be understood not only that various features thereof maybe independently used but also that numerous modifications might be made by those skilled in the art to which this case .the spirit and scope of this invention, as

thesame is indicated above and in the following claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. For use in a roamingv and mud circulating organization of the general character described: a unitary annular reamer the end faces of which are provided withv rectangular dovetailed projections and lie in planes perpendicular to the axis of the reamer, the circumference of said reamer being provided with radially arranged teeth whose edges lie in a common transverse plane and in different substantially vertical planes, each tooth. having one flat face and one rounded face.

2. For use in a roaming and mud circulating organization of the general character described, a unitary annular element comprising: a hollow hub provided with notched faces at its ends; an integrally formed toothed section and also rearwardly inclined fins,said fins being of shorter radius than the teeth of said toothed sectionand adapted to serve for mudding up a well hole, a plurality of like fins being symmetrically disposed in a plane distinct from that of said toothed section, and the tips of said teeth and the tips of said ns being differently inclined.

4. A rotary drilling tool organization comprising: a pilot bit; a tubular body provided with means for its interposition in a rotary drill string above said pilot bit; a stop member externally and rigidly secured on said body 'near one end thereof; symmetrical roaming elements, including hubs of substantially uniform diameter from which project integral teeth, the teeth of each upper reamer being longer than those of the next lower reamer and all of said teeth being separated by circulation spaces which extend inward substantially to said hubs,

'said reamers being slidably assembled on annular element compris-- string above said bit; a stop member externally and downwardly mounted on said tubular member, said stop member having a notched upper clutch face; symmetrical reaming elements of progressive upwardly increasing diameters slidably mounted on said tubular body, in planes perpendicular to the axis thereof,'above said stop member,--said roaming elements comprising hubs of substantially uniform diameter having cooperatively notched inter-engaging clutch faces, integrally formed and radially extending teeth separated by circulation spaces which extend inwardly substantially to said hubs, and integrally formed mudding tins of less diameter than said teeth; and removable means, mounted on said tubular body, holding said elements in rigid engagement with one another and with said stop.

6. A drilling tool organization comprising: a pilot bit; a tubular body provided with means for its intcrposition in a rotary drill string above said bit; a stop member externally and downwardly mounted on said tubular body, said stop member having an upper notched clutch face; mudding elements slidably assembled on said tubular body above said member, said mudding elements comprising hubs having cooperatively notched inter-engaging clutch faces and integrally formed radially extending fins, the lowermost fins being of less diameter than said pilot bit; and removable means, mounted on said tubular element, for holding said mudding elements in rigid engagement relatively to said stop member.

7. A drilling tool organization comprising: a pilot bit; a tubular b ody provided with means for its interposition in a drill string above said bit; combined roaming and mudding elements of progressive upwardly increasing diameters slidably assembled on said tubular body; a stop member, provided with an upper clutch face, mounted in rigid engagement with said body and supporting said elements,said elements including hubs which have cooperatively notched clutch faces for the transmission of torque from said stop member; and means, removably mounted on said tubular body,

nvon427 for holding said elements in mutual engagement, the lowermost of said elements engagam'eter, carrying integral teeth disposed incommon transverse planes,-the upper sets of teeth being longer than the lower sets of teeth, and said teeth being separated by circulation spaces which extend inward substantially to said hubs; means for securing said organization to a drill string, above said pilot bit; and means for the circulation of a lubricating iuid through said organization.

9. A drilling tool organization comprising: a tubular body provided with means for its interposition in a drill string; pipe burnishing elements of upwardly increasing diameters slidably assembled on said tubular bodyl in planes perpendicular to the axis thereof,-said elements including hubs which have inter-engaging clutch faces and being provided with circulation spaces which extend inward substantially to said hubs, and said tubular. body being downwardly provided with a fixed stop having an upper clutch face engaging the lowermost of said hub faces, and upwardly provided with removable means holding said elements and said stopin cooperating mutual engagement, to transmit torque therebetween.`

10. For use in a rotary drilling organization of the general character described, an annular reamer comprising: a hub having means for transmitting torque thereto; integrally formed', radially extending teeth disposed in a common plane and separated by circulation spaces which extend substantially to said hub; and integrally formed mudding fins, of less diameter than said teeth, provided with faces which are backwardly inclined.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at Los Angeles, California, this 10th dayof February, 1927.

GEORGE n. sHIELDs. 

